On June 20, 2025, Remedy Entertainment launched a new patch update for its relatively new, experimental co-op horde shooter, FBC: Firebreak. This patch contains a myriad of gameplay changes, including making Job and Clearance Level progression faster, altering the economy of gear, general gameplay balance changes, and more.
On top of that, Remedy released a statement on the game's Steam Page where the company said, and I quote, "Launching FBC: Firebreak is a significant milestone for us, not just because it’s our first online co-op game, but because we’ve self-published it as well. Several things have gone well. Clearly, not everything has."
Remedy says it's been reading feedback from critics and gamers across the web, and admits there are several aspects of FBC: Firebreak that are in need of refinements.
Some of these issues are being addressed in the recently released 1.2 patch, while others will require further planning from Remedy's part before they can be improved.
One of the aspects that Remedy is looking to improve, which has top priority, is the first hour of the game. The first hour of FBC: Firebreak has been criticized for its lack of Onboarding, not explaining the game's mechanics well for new players, and a subpar explanation of how the game's Job system works.
Additionally, players are stuck with weak starter weapons, and it takes too much grinding from the player's part before they can unlock higher-tier weapons. As a result, players are struggling to enjoy the opening act of the game, as they feel it takes too long to get the enjoyable power fantasy they enjoy in co-op shooters.
Remedy plans to address this issue by allowing players to access stronger weapons more quickly in FBC: Firebreak.
Also, Remedy says it will improve the game's Onboarding, so players will have a better understanding of what to do during Jobs, how to synergize their Crisis Kits better, and get better explanations on status effects and how to avoid them.
Another aspect of FBC: Firebreak that Remedy is planning to improve is the progression. Previously, the game had new players complete just the first Zone of each Job. This was meant to gradually onboard players to the Jobs, but it wasn't executed well.
It didn't tutorialize players, improve matchmaking, and it didn't give players a proper introduction to what Jobs were really about, as they only had access to a limited portion of them.
To fix this, Remedy will make it easier for players to gain access to the full versions of Jobs, starting with the Patch 1.2. According to the patch notes quoted from Remedy:
- You are no longer required to play the first two Clearance Levels of each Job.
- New players start their experience with a full three-zone Hot Fix Job run (Clearance Level 3).
- Completing the full Job unlocks the next full Job, and so on.
- Completing a full Job also unlocks the Corruption option for that Job.
The third major aspect that Remedy is looking to improve is unlocking gear. Remedy says, "We hear you: the grind is too slow. You want to try different builds, equip stronger weapons, use Altered Augments and experiment with Perks. Right now, getting to that takes too long."
Another big problem concerning FBC: Firebreak's gear grind is that 90% of the player base are not finding and using Lost Assets, a currency used to unlock items from Requisitions and Perks.
This is because the Lost Assets are too easy to miss due to them blending too well in the environment, being found in random locations or Shelters, and being dropped from Powerful Enemies.
In addition, players lose Lost Assets if they don't complete a Job. If they exit a Job midway or get disconnected, they get nothing at all.
As a result, players are progressing at a snail's pace, not unlocking the higher-tier Perks gear needed to help survive the more challenging Threat Levels.
According to Remedy, the 1.2 patch aims to address most of these problems regarding gear unlocks by:
- Lost Assets and Research Samples are now clearly visually highlighted, making it harder to miss them
- Rebalancing the cost of all unlockables.
- We have split the Operational Requisitions into two:
- All cosmetics (sprays, armor sets) are placed in a new Requisitions page called “Expressions”.
- Operational Requisitions is renamed to “Essentials” and as the name implies, contains weapons, gear, and equipment.
- Making essentials like Altered Augments, Improvised Devices, and powerful weapons easier to access.
- The end result of these changes is that you can unlock and buy gear significantly faster than before. No more needing to unlock gloves just to get to a better revolver.
Remedy says there are no changes regarding losing Lost assets from exiting Jobs midway or disconnecting at this time, but it is planning to look into what can be done to fix this bugbear in the future.
Will these changes help FBC: Firebreak reach its full potential?
Remedy says that this patch is only the beginning of more gameplay improvements it will implement in the future, along with others based on player feedback.
Our resident Remedy Entertainment fan, Samuel Tolbert, conducted a review-in-progress article on FBC: Firebreaks, stating that "if you're okay with a little chaos, it's a fun ride that seems perfectly suited for hopping in and playing a bit without spending thousands of hours in-game."
He also criticized the game for its limited narrative (especially considering this is from the same studio that produced story-rich games like the Alan Wake series, Control, and Quantum Break), non-viable difficulty for solo players, and its slow gear progression.
Hopefully, this 1.2 patch will fix the latter issue, while future updates continue to refine this strange, unique, and chaotic Xbox title so that solo players can enjoy it, and have a more enriching plot befitting Remedy Entertainment's legacy.
FBC: Firebreak is now available for Xbox Series X|S, Xbox Game Pass, PlayStation 5, and PC via Windows and Steam.
